If you do not spend your working day at your first place of work, you are entitled to additional expenses for meals (Verpflegungsmehraufwand). We explain which flat rates apply and how you can enter them in the Taxfix app.

Content:

• When do I have additional expenses for meals?
• What are the lump sums for meals?
• Additional expenses for meals abroad
• Example: Calculation of your additional expenses for meals
• This is how you enter your additional meal expenses in the Taxfix app

When do I have additional expenses for meals?

When you are on business trips or in the field, you usually have higher expenses for your meals: Since you are not at home, you are more likely to go to a restaurant or order food to your hotel room.

The higher expenses for your meals are often reimbursed directly by your employer tax-free in full or on a pro-rata basis, e.g. through free meals or through the payment of the flat-rate meal allowance.

If your employer has already paid the costs for your meals in full, you cannot deduct them.

If your costs have not been reimbursed or have not been reimbursed in full, you can claim them as income-related expenses. There are certain lump sums that you can deduct.

What are the lump sums for meals?

Depending on the length of time you spend away from home, there are different flat rates for additional subsistence expenses. In Germany, the following amounts apply:

Additional expenses for meals abroad

If you have to go abroad for an external activity, the amount of the per diem for meals depends on the country. In addition, the flat rates for additional meal expenses also vary within countries. For example, they are often higher in large cities than in the rest of the country, as city trips are usually associated with higher travel costs.

In the context of business trips, the Taxfix app therefore precisely queries the destination of your trip and automatically takes the applicable per diems into account.

Example: Calculation of your additional expenses for meals

You calculate your additional expenses for meals on the basis of the duration of your business or field trip. In the Taxfix app, you do not have to calculate the amounts yourself, but only record your absences.

For a 1-day absence of more than 8 hours

For example, you are out in the field for a day or attend a professional training course and are not at home or with your employer for more than 8 hours. In this case, you are absent for more than 8 hours and can claim 14 euros

For a 2-day absence

For example, you are on a short 2-day business trip. You arrive on day 1, stay overnight and leave on day 2. In this case, you have one day of arrival and one day of departure and can deduct 14 euros each and a total of 28 euros

For a 3-day absence

For example, you are away on business for 3 days. Day 1 is your arrival day. You stay overnight and are on site for a full 24 hours on day 2. On day 3 you leave again, this is your departure day. You can therefore claim flat rates for one day of arrival (14 euros), one day of 24 hours (28 euros) and one day of departure (14 euros), i.e. a total of 56 euros.

This is how you enter your additional meal expenses in the Taxfix app

You can enter additional expenses for meals in the Taxfix app in the category "Job". Firstly, you need to enter your employer details and upload your income tax statement if you have it available.

When specifying your commute to work within Germany

Additional meals expenses can be recorded if you select one of the following options when asked about your commute to work:

• "to many different places" or
• "working on the road or in a vehicle"

In the context of business trips at home and abroad

If you were travelling regularly, i.e. on a business trip, and incurred expenses that were not reimbursed by your employer. You can deduct these expenses.

You can enter the additional meal expenses in the Taxfix app in the question about business trips.

External work

If you worked at different locations, on the road or in a vehicle, you will first be asked whether you regularly travelled to a fixed location at the start of your work.

If you answer "No", you will initially only see the information that you were regularly travelling, that you worked externally, and that you can enter this later in the corresponding field.

Later on, you will be reminded of the business trip. There you indicate that you have travelled on business. Now you can enter the additional meal expenses and commuting expenses.

The assembly point

If you answer the question "Did you regularly travel to a fixed location at the start of your work?" with "Yes", you will first be notified that there is a so-called assembly point (Sammelpunkt). Your travelling expenses will then be asked as usual.

If you also wish to enter additional meal expenses, you must later indicate that you have travelled on business. Then select the answer "Additional meal expenses" for the costs and enter them directly.

The employer's fixed location

If you worked normally at a fixed workplace ("Employer's fixed location") you are generally not eligible for additional meal expenses. However, if you have travelled on business, you can additionally indicate this in the question on business trips.